Systemic abuse found at former B.C. school for developmentally disabled - Woodlands School, British Columbia - Brief Article

Community Action, August 19, 2002

VICTORIA -- Systemic abuse of developmentally disabled residents of Woodlands School occurred between 1976 and 1986, an administrative review concluded.

Conditions were ripe at the institution that opened in 1878, said report author Dulcie McCallum. She is a former provincial ombudsman who conducted the review for the ministry of child and family development. It was initiated following media reports of several complaints by former residents.

Woodlands, the review found, was characterized by: a code of silence among staff; a skewed view of appropriate discipline or conduct in responding to the needs of residents; size, layout and nature of service that created a coercive, sterile environment; residents considered to be lacking in intelligence and communication skills; overcrowding and inadequate staffing in addition to poorly-paid, unsupervised and untrained staff; an uninviting environment for family and friends, resulting in little contact between residents and potential advocates.

Most of the evidence of abuse--which included hitting, kicking, very cold showers and very hot baths resulting in burns to the skin, verbal abuse, extended isolation, wearing shackles and a belt-leash, broken limbs and black eyes--was found in garbage bags destined for destruction shortly before the review began. Despite stated Woodlands policy, few of the incidents were ever reported to parents, the report said.

McCallum also concluded that all cases were handled as personnel issues without regard to the need of residents.

The report recommended a second, investigative phase in which former residents and staff would testify about specific incidents and a final reparation phase. Forced sterilization would likely be raised as an issue during the investigative stage, it said. Child and Family Development Minister Gordon Hogg said the government would not proceed with the investigation phase. Recent experience in Nova Scotia, he said, showed that victims could be re-victimized.

Instead, the government is making files available to former residents and their families. It is consulting with them about ways to accommodate their needs for consultation and discussion.

The files that the review found to contain allegations of abuse are being turned over to the public guardian and trustee, who will advise and act for people for whom his office is the legal guardian, Hogg said.

Advocates for people with developmental disabilities are pleased with the first steps the government is taking, said Laney Bryenton, executive director of the B.C. Association for Community Living. Residents and their families must be the ones to decide the appropriate form of redress for the abuse they suffered, she said.

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